More local content please
About a decade ago, some industry players complained about the growing interest of telenovelas on our local television screens and warned that if care was not taken foreign content would completely take over local content, many were those who thought they were kicking a fuss over nothing.
More than a decade down the line, foreign content- telenovelas, soaps, sitcoms, movies, music, seem to have completely taken over most Ghanaian TV channels at the expense of local programmes.
Many still advocate for foreign content especially telenovelas should be given second thoughts or even scrapped entirely. And one such person to join the call is veteran actor Dr Rokoto who expressed his worry to Showbiz saying the television scene is not challenging anymore due to telenovelas.
He believes telenovelas have come not only to kill local television production in Ghana but also the nation’s rich culture. He cited programmes such as Obra and the other local drama series which did not only entertain but were also used as tools to sensitise the public on social vices and inform and educate the citizenry on government policies.
Showbiz couldn’t have agreed more with the sentiments expressed by Dr Rokoto although we do not subcribe to foreign content being scrapped entirely. We believe some foreign content is essential to help balance the ‘equation’.
The National Commission on Culture’s cultural policy, require TV stations in Ghana to show 70 per cent Ghanaian content and 30 percent foreign content. TV stations in Ghana are supposed to use their contents to project Ghana’s arts, culture and value systems but what currently pertains is a far cry from that.
And this is where we think the powers that be should ensure this policy is complied with. We appreciate the fact that local production can be expensive but then if TV stations dwell too much on that, the young ones especially will suffer.
If care is not taken, we will be at a point where our heritage will be completely buried by these foreign productions and rectifying it will be a huge task.
